Letters shed new light on British despair during the American War of Independence

A remarkable archive of letters has thrown new light on the despair of British commanders during the American War of Independence.

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The letters show how British generals despaired at the hopeless optimism of King George III, left

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John Burgoyne, a British general, surrendering at the Battle of Saratoga

By Philip Sherwell in New York

9:10PM GMT 19 Feb 2010

Their downbeat perspective contrasts dramatically with the exhortations of George III and his ministers in London who come across as hopelessly out-of-touch and absurdly optimistic.

The documents, part of a collection that have been in private possession for more than two centuries, reveal a much gloomier analysis by British generals than previously believed.

According to the collection which goes on sale at Sotheby's in New York in a series of auctions beginning in April, they began to despair of victory almost as soon as the conflict began in 1775.

A letter from Gen John Burgoyne, dated 25 June 1775 in Boston gives an early assessment of how bad things looked.

"Our prospects are gloomy," he told an unidentified lord in a letter written after the first two battles of the campaign in Massachusetts – a humiliating defeat to a local band of militiamen followed by a victory but with heavy losses at Bunker Hill.

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He described the British position as "a crisis that my little reading in history cannot parallel" and predicts even at this early stage that the Crown would only be able to subdue the rebellion with the help of German or Russian allies.

"Such a pittance of troops as Great Britain and Ireland can supply will only serve to protract the war, to incur fruitless expense and insure disappointment," he said.

The Burgoyne letter is part of the collection of papers and correspondence of Sir Henry Strachey, who had a ringside seat on the momentous events as chief aide to the Howe brothers who led the British war effort. He later held a similar role at the Paris peace negotiations.

In March 1777, Sir Henry writes that the American revolutionaries are much more "obstinate" than realised by the "short-sighted folks in England".

The items on sale include a copy of George III's famous royal proclamation of August 1775 "for suppressing rebellion and sedition" – one of fewer than 20 still known to be inexistence.

The collection reveals attitudes from George III and his political aides in London that bordered on plain delusional as they failed to grasp the realities 3,500 miles away.

Lord Germain, secretary of state for the colonies, demonstrated a particular condescending contempt for the rebels that appeared to blind him to the realities on the ground.

In a letter in Oct 1776, he referred to their "pernicious designs" and accused them of "misrepresentation and perversion of facts" that "fatally blinded the eyes of a deluded multitude". He denounced their use of "violence and threats in search of a Redress of grievances which never existed".

Even after a major victory for Washington's forces, he managed to hold out hopes that the enemy would somehow see the error of their ways.

"I trust, however, that the unexpected Success of the Rebels there will not so far elate them as to prevent them from seeing the real Horrors of their Situation and tempt them to disdain to sue for Pardon," he opined.

Yet by June 1778, Captain Balfour wrote to Sir Henry from Philadelphia, lamenting: "I am sure you will pity us here, insulted & ridiculed by the Americans, disgusted and unhappy amongst ourselves."

Sotheby's is expecting to raise up to £770,000 from the archive's sale, while the broadside of the George III proclamation alone is estimated to go for up to £32,000.

They papers were privately held by the Strachey family in Britain for about two centuries, then sold to the library of late US newspaper Baron James Copley, a voracious collector of documents relating to America's military, political and literary history.